This invention relates in general to a ballistic barrier, and more particularly to a mobile bullet-resistant barrier with adjustable bullet-resistant glass panes.
Citizens and law enforcement personnel face assailants armed with firearms everyday. Of the murders committed in the U.S. with firearms, many are with a handgun. A high percentage of the time, the weapon used by assailants in committing a violent crime is a handgun. Greater gun availability increases the rates of murders and felonies. Recent studies indicate that the use of handguns in homicides has been increasing.
The selection of appropriate armor establishes a level of protection. This level of protection must meet the needs of the user and be based upon a realistic weapon threat. Notwithstanding, it is impossible to completely protect a law enforcement officer, or group of law enforcement officers, from all possible firearm threats with body armor. It is therefore necessary to also use a reasonable level of ballistic protection as an alternative or additional means while minimizing the risk of injury resulting from firearms.
Police departments, to date, have been minimizing the risk of potential injury resulting from criminal use of handguns using non-ballistic shields, non-see-through ballistic shields with limited viewing lens plates, ballistic face shields, and bullet-resistant vests made from a wide variety of armor, such as polyethylene, polycarbonate, aluminum alloys, and steel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,934 discloses a completely transparent bullet shield. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,412,495 and 5,392,686 disclose full body bulletproof shields. All of these patents are directed to hand held bulletproof shields.
The problem with these hand-held shields is that they are cumbersome and may block the view of the user, thereby jeopardizing the safety of the user and those around him. In addition, these shields typically only protect part of a single person""s body leaving that person and others around him/her vulnerable to an assailant. Further, these shields lack the ability to protect larger high threat areas while simultaneously providing full view of immediate and potential threats. The shields also lack the ability to create a ballistic barrier having an unobstructed view in larger areas such as doorway areas involving explosions and flying debris, vicinities of riot, embassies grounds, and other high risk locations.
It can be seen then that there is a need for a bullet-resistant barrier that protects a larger area than a hand-held shield and is mobile. Such a mobile bullet-resistant barrier would need to have the ability to protect a larger area while simultaneously providing a full view of immediate and potential threats. Such a mobile bullet-resistant barrier would need to protect not only a person, but also an area from hazards such as gunfire, or an explosion. Such a mobile bullet-resistant barrier would create a refuge or haven for an entire area, unlike a hand-held shield.
An apparatus in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes a mobile bullet-resistant barrier including a frame having a first frame side, a second frame side, and the frame sides being substantially parallel to each other. The frame also includes a plurality of cross-tracks, the cross-tracks being perpendicular to the frame sides and connecting the frame sides together. Further, the frame includes a first base member and a second base member mounted perpendicular to the cross-tracks at an end of each frame side for carrying the frame sides. A plurality of rollers are mounted to the base members allowing omni directional frame movement. The frame supports a bullet-resistant material, slidable in the frame, the material being substantially transparent.
Other embodiments of an apparatus in accordance with the principles of the invention may include alternative or optional additional aspects. One such aspect would be an apparatus including a mechanism allowing retraction and extension of the plurality of rollers mounted to the first and second base member, the plurality of rollers further including a locking mechanism inhibiting movement of the rollers. Another aspect would be an apparatus including a roller assembly that is removable, allowing the barrier to rest on its frame.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the cross-tracks support at least one panel of bullet-resistant material in the frame. The cross-tracks are adjustable, allowing movement of the bullet-resistant material in the frame.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the frame further includes a latch for maintaining a predetermined position of the cross-track, inhibiting the movement of the bullet-resistant material in at least one direction.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described specific examples of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention.